Last night here at the Democrat and Chronicle, we convened a group of about 50 elected officials and community leaders from across Monroe County to talk about race and economic inequities. It was the second meeting of this group, which met for the first time in Chili nearly four months ago as part of the Editorial Board's Unite Rochester Listening Tour.

For more than two hours they spoke openly about a wide range of issues related to race and economic injustice. The participants were also insistent on getting something done, citing the many dysfunctions the newspaper and the Editorial Board, in a special report, outlined a couple of months ago.

H. Todd Bullard, a local attorney who served more than 14 years in the Republican-controlled Monroe County Legislature as a Democrat, had this to say about the meeting: "I've never seen anything like this before. This is historic."

It was. After all no one can recall a gathering under one roof of high-level Democratic and Republican leaders who recognized that this community can no longer stay on the same path and survive. They committed themselves to working together for systemic change. Refreshing!

Then today, I attended a State of Rochester's Economy luncheon at the Hyatt sponsored by the Rochester Downtown Development Corporation. I was particularly stirred by the words of M&T Bank economist Gary Keith. In talking about the region's economic outlook, Keith essentially underscored the need for our Unite Rochester campaign.

His words: "We must solve the problem of urban eduation. The suburbs will not survive and do well without fixing the city."

Both Keith and Mark Peterson of the Greater Rochester Enterprise said the region cannot be successful in growing its economy if it can't meet increasing demands for skilled workers. Already, they noted, many jobs in advanced manufacturing, for example, are going unfilled.

There is much work to be done. And, fortunately, there is evidence that leaders are uniting to make it happen.